Children of Morta, the roguelike about a mystical mountain family, is delayed until next year

The pixel-art game about a family charged with guarding a magical mountaintop has grown considerably in scope.

Children of Morta is a pixel-art narrative roguelike about a family that serves as guardian of the mystical Mount Morta and the lands around it. I was quite taken by the concept and teaser when it was announced in August 2017, and Wes and Austin seemed suitably impressed after spending some time with it earlier this year. It had been slated for release sometime this year, but with just a couple of weeks left before that deadline passes, developer Dead Mage Studio has said that it's not going to happen.

"Having a solid amount of feedback after shows like PAX Prime, and knowing exactly the goal we need to reach, we have decided to move the release date of Children of Morta, on all platforms, to 2019," producer Marek Ziemak said. "There is huge potential for this gem and we know how to fulfill it, so some things are already put in motion. I strongly believe in Mr. Miyamoto’s words about delaying a game to make sure it’s brilliant when it releases and nothing less."

The size of each of the game's three biomes is being increased, and "mini-bosses" are being added to the end of each. The story will also be "written with a bolder pen," which the developers said will tie the game world "more strongly" to the plot—and which is also the biggest obstacle to overcome.

"The main challenge has been integrating the main story arc inside a repeatable roguelike setting and also making sure the family feel is there to let the gamer experience an adventure alongside a family of guardians," Dead Mage CEO Amir Fassihi said. "Many elements need to be procedurally generated while the whole story follows one main line."

A new release date hasn't been set, but Dead Mage said Children of Morta is now expected to be out sometime next year. It also dropped a trio of new screens showing off the game's "evolving art style," which I have to say look pretty damn good.